We’re Rubber Stamp National Assembly – Senate Spokesman

Senate Spokesman, Senator Ajibola Basiru, has stated that the National Assembly has accepted its description as a rubber stamp of the executive.

Ajibola made this known in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday while reacting to claims that the legislature always does the bidding of the executive.

The Senate spokesman said if Nigerians consider making law for the progress of the country to be a rubber stamp, then it gladly accepts the label.

He stated that the National Assembly will not be an opposition to the executive, rather it will continue to do its constitutional duties of checks and balance.

Ajbola added that decision of the legislature on national issues is not partisan, saying that the lawmakers always take the masses into consideration during every motion and bill.

He said: “If making law for the progress of the country is considered to be a rubber stamp, then we agree that we are a rubber stamp national assembly.

“If the idea of seeing the national assembly as an opposition parliament is what some people expected, we are happy to disappoint such people. Our job is clearly cut out for us by section 4 of the constitution.

“The national assembly today is a bipartisan legislative assembly, whereby we have members from the ruling party (APC) and the PDP. Our decisions are taken not on the basis of partisan consideration but on the basis of the general consideration of the people.

“For those that see the national assembly as a fighting organisation. I think we are happy to disappoint them, we are a conglomerate of Nigerians elected to represent the Nigerian people for the purpose of lawmaking.”